Attachment for mowing-machines.



' N10. 756,114. V PATBNTBD MAR. 29, i904. Ac. HERMAN.

ATTACHMENT PoR MOWING MAGHINES.'

APPLITION FILED 0013.16.. 1903.

-IO IODEL.

'me mums Parzns co. Pnoro-umo., WASHINGTON. n. c.

' zen of the United States, residing at Institute,

YNo. 689,803 were granted to myself on the of between the arms 2 and 3.

' UNITEDv STATES Patented March 29, 1904.

CHARLES HERMAN, OF INSTITUTE, WISCONSIN.

ATTACHMENT FOR IVIOWING-NIACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 756,114, dated March29, 1904.

Application fue.. october 13, 19153.

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LCHARLES HERMAN, a citiin the county of Door and Stateof Wisconsin, have invented a new-and useful Attachment forMowing-Machines, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to a vine-lifting attachment for mowing-machines,and it may be described as an improvement on the device for whichLetters Patent of the United States 24th day of December, 1901. 1

In the latter patent above referred to were included a bracketattachment to the fingers of the cutting apparatus of a mowing-machine,and said bracket attachment was connected by means of a knuckle-jointwith a shoe carried thereby and adapted t'o travel upon the ground inadvance of the cutting apparatus, said shoe being provided witha'rearwardly-extending vine-lifting arm.' By my present improvement Iprovide a bracket-arm adapted for connection with a finger of thecutting apparatus. I also provide a shoe having an upwardly andrearwardlyextending vine-lifting arm, and I nally provide a pivotalconnection between the shoe and the bracket-arm which is more Simple andmore efficient than the so-called knuckle-joint shown and illustrated inmy former patent.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional viewshowing my invention applied to the cutting apparatus of amowing-machine in operative position, dotted lines being employed toindicate a different position. Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective detailviews showing the shoe and the bracket-arm separated from each other.

Corresponding parts in the several igures are indicated by similarnumerals of reference.

1 designates a bracket which is bifurcated to form rearwardly-extendingarms 2 and 3, each of which has a longitudinal slot 4. The bracket isprovided with a recess 5 in the rear wall there- The latter are inpractice placed in engagement with the cutting apparatus of amoving-machine, said cutting apparatus 6 being inserted between the arms2 and 3 with the point of a linger 7 en- Serial No. l76,920. (No model.)

gaging the recess 5, a bolt 8, inserted through openings 9 in the slots4, serving to clamp the bracket device securely upon the cuttingapparatus. The front end of the bracket 1 terminates in a roundedprojectionor nose 10, having a transverse opening 11.

12 designates the shoe, which is provided with a fiat under side andupturned point, enabling it to ride over the ground in the manner whichis usual in a device of this character.

The shoe is provided with a rearwardly-ex-A tending heel-plate 13, andit has a recess 14 for the accommodation of the point 10 of the bracketmember, which has a bearing in the bottom of said recess, the side wallsof said recess being providedwith perforations 15 for the passage of aconnecting-pin 16, which extends transversely through the perforations15 in the side walls of the recess and 11 in the point of the bracketmember. The bottom of the recess 14 is inclined forwardly anddownwardly, and the heel-plate 13 is inclined downwardly and rearwardlyfrom a central point or hump 14", which separates the recess from theheel-plate. The bodyof the shoe is made of such a height that the recess14 may be made amply large enough to playfreely upon the point of thebracket member with which it is thus pivotally connected, the extremedifferent positions being illustrated in full and in dotted lines inFig. 1 of the drawings. The point 1() of the bracket member is also madewith slightly-diverging upper and lower edges 10 and 10b, either ofwhich provides an extended bearing-surface when the shoe is at therespective limits of its pivotal movements. This is especially importantwhen the upper edge of the bracket member abuts against the top of therecess 14, the extended bearing-surface thus provided serving to insurethe parts against breakage. When the bracket member 1 engages the bottomof the recess 14,. the parts are reinforced by the hump 14h, and thedownward slope of the heel-plate 14 corresponds with the shape of theunder side of the bracket member and enables the parts to naturallyassume their relative positions. The walls 17 of the recess are extendedrearwardly, thereby reinforcing the bracket member and insuringdurability of construction without IOO interfering with the freedom ofmovement in a vertical plane of the shoe relatively to the bracketmember, which is connected with the mowing-machine.

The shoe 12 is provided with an upwardly and rearwardly extendingvine-lifting arm 18, which is preferably formed integral with the saidshoe member.

It will thus be observed that my improved device comprises only twomembers-namely, the bracket member and the shoe member-in addition tothe pivotal pin 16 and the bolt required to connect the bracket memberwith the cutting apparatus of the mowing-machine.

The operation of this invention will be readily understood from theforegoing description, taken in connection with the drawings heretoannexed. One of these devices is attached to each of thengers of acutter-bar of a mowing-machine when the latter is to be employed for thepurpose of cutting vines, such as peavines, or when the grain to becutis down and matted. The material to be cut will by the improvedattachment be lifted over the cutting apparatus, so as to be effectivelyoperated upon by the latter. By my present improvement itwill be seenthat the end of the arm 1 at all timesabuts upon the inner end of therecess 14, which is provided with an extended bearing-surface, wherebystrain upon the pivotal connecting-pin is absolutely avoided. This isfound to be of extreme importance in devices of this class whereconsiderable strain upon the shoes which constitute the attachment isexercised during the progress of the machine. By my former invention,reference to which has hereinbefore been made, (Patent No. 689,803,)this objection was overcome by forming a kuckle-joint which had bearingagainst the inner end of the recess in the shoe. rl`his, however, wasfound objectionable,owing to the necessity for the presence of a top orcovering plate for the connection of the parts, which was liable tobreakage, and also to the fact that more or less lateral vibration wasapt to take place. These objections are com pletely overcome by mypresent invention in a simple and effective manner.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In a device of the classdescribed, the combination with a shoe havinga downwardly and forwardlysloping recess and a rearwardlyextending, downwardlysloping heel-platewhich cooperates with the bottom of the recess to form an intermediatehump or raised portion, of a bracket member having upper and lower,slightly diverging edges and a rounded front end contacting with theinnerv end of the recess, the edges of the bracket member formingextended bearing surfaces adapted to contact with the upper and lowersloping walls of the recess, and a pivotal connecting-pin.

Q. 1n a device of the class described, a bracket member adapted forconnection with a linger of a cutting apparatus, said bracket memberhaving a forwardly-extending arm with a rounded end and divergent upperand lower surfaces, in combination with a shoe having a recess, theinner end of which forms a bearing for the rounded end of the arm, and apivotal connecting-pin whereby the rounded point of the arm is retainedin such contact.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

IS CHARLES XRHERMAN.

IDBI' Witnesses:

JACOB DnHos, ANDREW NELSON.

